EVANSVILLE – The city stinks, and officials now think they know why.
A city-wide odor described by many as similar to burning-tires or gas reportedly stems from a local business’ use of mercaptans, a class of compounds perhaps best known for adding a distinctive foul smell to natural gas.
According to the Evansville Climate Collaborative, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management began investigating Tuesday after a battery of initial tests by local officials failed to pin down the stench’s origin. The Evansville Fire Department received more than two dozen reports complaining of the smell over the past two days.
“The IDEM inspector has concluded the odor was coming from empty containers that once held mercaptan slated for cleaning at a local business,” Lauren Lynch, the Evansville Climate Collaborative’s director, wrote in a statement. “The business began cleaning the barrels with hot water, prompting the release of the chemical odor into the air.”
IDEM spokesman Barry Sneed identified the business in question as the O’Bryan Barrel Company, which lists an address just northeast of Green River Road’s intersection with Morgan Avenue — a hotspot for reports of the odor.
According to Sneed, workers began processing a shipment of more than 300 barrels on Monday that previously contained mercaptan, which has a rotten egg, sulfur-like odor. Between 50 and 100 barrels were cleaned with hot water, releasing residual mercaptan into the atmosphere, before processing ceased.
“The facility stopped the cleaning process immediately and has rejected the remaining barrels in the shipment,” Sneed wrote. “The facility is currently cleaning its processing line equipment to remove any mercaptan residue.”
According to IDEM, the odor will likely persist in the area for some time until weather conditions dissipate the remaining mercaptan.
“While it (mercaptan) is not considered dangerous, it can be an irritant like smoke or other strong smells,” Lynch added. “It can irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory system. Those sensitive to the odor are advised to stay indoors until the odor dissipates.”
Previously, the Evansville Fire Department utilized photoionization detectors, devices that detect the presence of everything from natural gas and carbon monoxide to formaldehyde and ammonia, in an effort to pin down the source of the smell. Those tests all came up negative.
“At this time, our readings have consistently shown zero detections for these hazards,” EFD officials wrote in a statement Tuesday morning. “This tells us that we are not finding conditions that are immediately dangerous to life or health during our investigations.”
What parts of Evansville have reported the smell?
EFD’s post confined the smells to the East Side of the city, but residents have noticed it Downtown and parts of Vanderburgh County as well.
According to a University of Evansville news release Tuesday morning, it’s also wafted through multiple campus buildings in the Weinbach Avenue-Walnut Street area.
“There is no immediate threat to campus, and we will continue to share updates as additional information becomes available from local authorities,” UE spokesman Noah Alatza wrote in a statement.
Some social media commenters wondered if a large fire that erupted at a tire disposal business in Benton, Illinois early Monday morning could be to blame, but that blaze was quickly contained, and any lingering smell would have to travel more than 80 miles to crawl up Evansville’s nostrils. And that would do nothing to explain other local smell complaints that have persisted for months.
According to Lynch, IDEM will work with the business to “remedy the situation and address air quality compliance concerns.”
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Here’s why Evansville smells so bad right now, according to IDEM
Reporting by Jon Webb and Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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